INEC sets timelines for Rivers gov poll

The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed between April 2 and April 5 for the collation of results for Rivers governorship election.

The Commission has also released timelines for the conclusion of the state election suspended due to alleged violence.

INEC’s National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, disclosed this at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja.

Okoye said according to the timelines for the state election, an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee Election on Security meeting will hold on March 29 in the state.

This, according to him, would be followed by stakeholders’ meeting on March 30 in Port Harcourt, and the issuance of guidelines for resumption of collation of results from INEC headquarters, Abuja.

Okoye added that there would also be re-validation of polling agents and observers for collation of results between March 25 and March 31 in Rivers and Abuja simultaneously.

“Thereafter, there will be resumption of collation and announcement of result and this will take place between April 2 and April 5 and it will take place in Port Harcourt.

“The venue for this particular activity will be agreed upon within the Commission and the critical stakeholders in the electoral process.

“Then on April 13, there will be supplementary election where necessary. Thereafter, there will be an announcement of all results between April 13 and April 15,” he said.

Okoye added that April 19 has been fixed for the issuance of all outstanding Certificates of Return in relation to the election.

On supplementary elections, Okoye said that the election scheduled for Saturday, March 23, would take place in 18 states.

“Some of you are already aware that the Commission has conducted election in 29 states and returns have been made in 22 of those states.

“While the election was suspended in Rivers, it was declared inconclusive in six states: Bauchi, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Sokoto and Kano,’’ he said.

The national commissioner, while appealing for stakeholders’ support, urged all registered voters in the affected areas where election would be conducted, to go out and cast their votes.

Speaking after the briefing on the fate of federal lawmakers yet to be issued Certificate of Return in spite of being declared winners of the elections, Okoye said most of them were already in court over the matter.

He said that there were four lawmakers in that category whom INEC had refused to issue certificates because their results were declared under duress.

“Since they have taken legal option, we are going to allow the judiciary to take it course. At the end of the day, we will comply with whatever the court says.

“We must complete the processes related to this governorship election and this whole election before April 29, 2019.

“Anything outside that will fall out of the constitution order and will become a Constitutional crisis. So, the people of Bauchi must know who their governor is on or before April 29,” he said.